Important update from TheSchoolRun
For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.
What this means for subscribers:
- Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
- In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
- As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.
A few changes to be aware of:
- The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
- The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.
*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.
Best 11+ apps for kids
The apps reviewed are not produced or distributed by TheSchoolRun. All details were correct when we reviewed them, but please note that some apps can be very short-lived and may become unavailable to download. We are unable to guarantee that the app listings we provide are completely up-to-date at all times.
Best 11+ bundle
11+ Apps – Complete Bundle by Sangeetha Bhatta, £25.99, Android*
If you’re looking for all the 11+ preparation materials your child needs in one handy bundle, look no further than this package of seven brilliant learning apps.
It includes practice materials covering VR, NVR, vocabulary and maths, plus mock papers for English and maths. All of the question types and areas of knowledge that could potentially crop up in the actual 11+ exam are ticked off, with options for your child to practise skills, take timed papers, retry incorrectly answered questions, and check their progress on interactive pie charts.
Each app is also available to buy separately if your child needs to focus on specific areas, with prices ranging from £2.99 to £6.99.
* These apps are not available as a complete bundle for Android, but can be purchased individually. Search for Webrich Software.
Prepare Your Child For The 11+ Exam
- Essential 11+ English and maths skills
- Verbal and non-verbal reasoning questions
- Reading comprehension worksheets & CLOZE tests
Best for expanding vocabulary
11+ Vocabulary Builder by The Tutors, £4.99, Apple
A wide vocabulary is fundamental to 11+ success. 11+ Vocabulary Builder does exactly what it says on the tin, testing your child on an enormous 1375 words.
The app groups word problems into different categories, including alphabet order, anagram pairs, compound words, opposite meanings, similar meanings, spelling errors and more.
There are five practice tests in each category, each with 25 questions, plus 55 full tests with 50 questions each, designed to replicate the 11+ exam.
Best for times tables practice
Squeebles Times Tables, £3.99, Apple
Although it’s not intended specifically for 11+ preparation, Squeebles Times Tables is a great way for your child to build speed and fluency with their times tables, which underpin so many of the maths questions that they’ll be asked in their entrance exams.
The app helps your child practise times tables in a variety of different formats, including out of sequence, word problems and inverse operations. If they get a calculation wrong, it’s added to the Tricky Tables section for extra practice. There’s also an Extreme challenge where they can tackle 13, 14 and 15 times tables: the sort of extended knowledge that’s needed for the 11+.
In return for practising their tables, your child can collect different Squeebles characters to play with, and also earn credit to play the arcade-style Bubble-Ball game as a reward for their efforts.
Best resource for parents
11 Plus: Your 11 Plus Helper, free, Apple
Finding out about grammar schools in your area and keeping abreast of important dates can be hard work. Your 11 Plus Helper brings much of this information together in one app, so everything you need to know is in the palm of your hand.
It lets you browse grammar and independent schools across the country, by area, and read key information about each one. You can then ‘favourite’ your preferred schools to receive notifications about key dates, and phone or email them with enquiries from within the app.
There are resources on sitting the 11+ and forums where you can chat to other parents, although these are still in their infancy. A tutor-finding section is also under development, and, once complete, it aims to help you find and contact tutors in your area.
